Two Is Better Than One
by forgetyouinsiberia
Summary: What if Ian had a son no one knew about? LUCIAN. ONESHOT! Though it may change later.


_Two Is Better Than One_

Ian dropped a toy into the big red bin next to his entertainment system and looked around the room. The big red fire truck was under the coffee table, but everything else was picked up. And it would stay that way... For a few hours. Josh was fast asleep in his bed, and Ian was hoping he would stay that way for a while longer.

Joshua Michael Harding was his 3-year-old son. He had been conceived just days after Ian had graduated from college. He had been just shy of 23, fresh-faced in the world of acting, and only had a few projects under his belt. Kayleigh had been a college friend that he'd known since his freshman year. A few drinks one night led to a few **too many** drinks, and they'd ended up back at her place in New York. He'd found out she was pregnant not long after that.

They had discussed ALL their options and generously considered them all, including adoption. In the end though, they opted to keep Josh. They had worked out a schedule, and, as Pretty Little Liars became the center of Ian's life, made agreements about how things would work between them.

It had only been a day after Josh's birth that Kayleigh realized she couldn't handle the responsibility of being a full-time mom. Her and Ian's attempt at trying to make a relationship had failed a few months earlier when she had grown jealous of the chemistry between Ian and Lucy, and their instant ability to become friends. At twenty-two she didn't feel ready to commit to being a mom yet.

The choice had been so easy for Ian. He had loved his son long before he was born, and so he took sole custody, granting Kayleigh visitation rights. Of course, in the beginning, she visited almost daily, but eventually the visits dwindled to weekly, and then bi-weekly, and then only once or twice a month, and then even more sparse than that. Ian was happy and LA with Pretty Little Liars, and she liked New York, and the club scene. In less than six months, she was back to partying while he worked his work schedule around his son.

The first year was the hardest. He didn't date for a long time, and then when he did, very few dates made it past 'I have a newborn son and I'm a single parent'. He gave up for a while and then considered dating a fellow parent, but most of the women he met were older and didn't want more kids. As it was, Kayleigh's visits became even fewer, and on Josh's first birthday, he asked her to stop visiting if she wasn't going to come more often, as it was hurting Josh to have his mother constantly walking in and out and making empty promises. She signed away all custody two months later.

After that, he relied heavily on the help of his family and cast mates, specifically on Lucy and Holly. Holly gave him the insight that only a fellow parent, and more over, a **mother**, could. And, as Lucy grew closer to Josh, she and Ian became closer than never. She dated Alex to thwart herself from being with Ian, and did the same with Chris, but the feelings were ever-present, and always led to the boys seeing her jealousy and ending the relationships. Meanwhile, he dated Sophia for more than a year, before ending it because of the distance.

He and Lucy had both been single for about a month when they'd hooked up. Ian had gone through himself in the days after - what if she got pregnant? He already had one child. Could he **really **be a single dad to two children at 25? Why would Lucy want a baby now? She'd just started recording her first album and just starting to achieve her dreams.

She had quelled his fears when she told him she was ready to be with him and try to make things work as a family.

She tiptoed out of the hallway and walked into the kitchen, wrapping her arms around him from the back as he took a long drink of cappuccino from his espresso maker.

"Mmm," he murmured as he placed his cup back on the counter. "Morning."

"Morning," she murmured back to him, resting her head between his shoulder blades. "You think the tornado will sleep for a while longer?"

Ian chuckled, turning around to face her. "Probably. The crying from that nightmare wore him out."

"That's right," Lucy drawled as she filled her own cup with the French vanilla cappuccino he'd made. "What was that about anyway?"

Ian hopped up onto the adjacent counter and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl. He peeled it and took a bite. "Dinosaurs and robotic cars. Apparently Transformers and The Land Before Time scared the crap out of him."

Lucy giggled, taking a long drink of the cappuccino. The flavor didn't disappoint. She smiled with her eyes closed as the warm liquid ran down her throat and into her stomach. "_So _good."

"Now would that be the coffee you're referring to," Ian asked as he hopped down off the counter and walked up to her. He brushed her hair out of her face and tilted his head down, brushing his lips against hers. "Or the amorous activities that took place last night?"

Lucy giggled as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I'm gonna go for an even split."

"Daddy!"

Lucy's shoulders dropped and she laughed as she rested her head against his chest. Josh ran into the room and wrapped his tiny arms around Ian's leg. Ian looked down at the chestnut curls on his son's head and chuckled before leaning down to pick him up. Josh grinned at him.

"Hungry, bud?" Ian asked. Josh nodded.

"C'mere," Lucy said, extending her arms to the toddler. "Daddy can get you breakfast."

Josh grinned at her and reached his arms to her. Lucy took him and walked around the counter. She sat down on a chair and settled Josh next to her.

"Can we go to park today?" He asked as Ian filled a small bowl with Trix and then added milk.

"Sure," Ian replied. "Maybe Holly can bring Kelley, Riley, and Finley. Would you like that?" Josh nodded happily. Ian placed the bowl of cereal on the counter and then walked around it and grabbed the booster seat he had from the floor. Lucy took Josh long enough for Ian to place the seat in the chair before she placed him back in it. With the seat, he was able to see over the counter and actually reach his bowl of cereal.

Ian walked back around the counter and grabbed his banana from the counter, where it had been forgotten in the past few minutes. He leaned against the counter and smiled at Lucy as she gulped down several sips of her cappuccino. She smiled back at him, placing her cup back down on the counter. She reached a hand over and ran her fingers through Josh's hair. He was such a mini version of Ian in so many ways, from his endless energy to the way that he always managed to find happiness in things.

'Love you' Ian mouthed to her. Lucy grinned back at him and repeated the gesture. Her phone began ring in Ian's bedroom. She groaned.

"Who calls at seven AM?"

Ian chuckled as she moved off her chair walked into his room. She picked up the phone from the bedside table and unplugged it from the charger before sliding the arrow across the screen and lifting it to her ear.

"Who dare call me this early?" She teased as she walked back out of the room.

"_Your TV mother," _Holly laughed on the other end of the phone. _"Did the little rascal wake you up?" _

"No," Lucy said with a smile on her face as she walked back into the kitchen. "I was already awake. I smelled coffee."

"_Tell Rookie he's welcome to come make me coffee any time." _Holly joked. _"It's a much better wakeup call than three boys jumping on your bed." _

Lucy chuckled. "I'll be sure to tell him that. What're you guys up to today?"

_"Well since it's Saturday, I'm sure the kids will talk me into going somewhere with a park or a pool. Maybe a water park?" _

A moment later, a chorus of voices suddenly picked up from the other end of the phone, and Lucy chuckled as she listened to Holly's sons.

"_Alright, apparently its decided. Do you and Rookie want to meet me there. Like ten thirty?" _She asked.

Lucy grabbed a piece of scrap paper lying on the counter and a pen before scribbling _'water park? 10:30?' _on it. Ian nodded.

"Sure," she replied. "We'll see you then."

_-  
Gravity hurts, you made it so sweet  
__Till I woke up on the concrete  
-_

Lucy leaned back against the pool chair she was currently lying in and adjusted her shorts. She was wearing a blue bikini from the Bongo line that she'd gotten while in Miami a few months earlier. There were blue and white stripes on the ties, but it was otherwise a basic blue bikini. Over the bottoms, she was wearing the jean short shorts that had been in the spring line.

Ian tossed is t-shirt down on the end of her chair and sat down, pulling a bottle of sun block from the bag she'd packed for them. She'd packed enough towels for them, extra clothes incase their own got wet, and the sun block.

"C'mere you little rascal," Ian teased as he pulled Josh back to him by his arm. The three year old boy squirmed and giggled as Ian rubbed him down with the white lotion. Once he was covered from head to toe in it, Ian set him free, and he charged away after Riley and Kelley. Ian shared the sun block with Lucy and they both rubbed their own arms and legs down before Ian moved over to her chair and handed her the sun block to cover his back. After she was finished, he returned the favor.

"Can you _**not **_untie me while you're back there," she asked, squirming as Ian rubbed the lotion into her skin.

"Tempt me," he laughed.

"There are kids here," she scolded lightly.

"Alright, alright," he whined, finishing rubbing the sun block on her. Lucy turned around and took the sun block from him again. She squeezed a generous amount onto her hand and then stood and handed it back to him before she started rubbing it onto his face.

"You two are sickening," Holly teased as she finished rubbing down Finley in sun block and began to start on herself.

Lucy giggled and rubbed a line of sun block down Ian's forehead and onto his nose. She dropped her head back laughing and Ian rolled his eyes, though he was laughing too. Holly snapped a photo of them before Ian could get his face wiped off. Their phones chimed a moment later and Lucy finished rubbing sun block onto Ian's face before she reached down and grabbed her phone out of her bag while Ian squeezed out sunblock and then began to rub it on her face and neck.

**H_Combs**

**.lucyyhale .IANMHARDING goofs. instagram/393ssc**

Lucy giggled and shook her head, closing her twitter app. She opened her instagram and tilted her phone up to look at Ian. "Smile."

He stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed as she snapped the photo. A moment later, Ian's phone chimed again. He feigned a scowl at her. "Twitter?"

Lucy grinned at him as he picked up his phone and brought up the app.

**Lucyyhale**

**.IANMHARDING adult baby instagram/cs93skid**

Ian laughed and shook his head. He closed the app and smiled at the picture as his background. It was a photo of Lucy, Josh, and him on set. Lucy was sitting in her chair with Josh in her lap, and Ian was sitting next to her in his chair with his arm around them. It was a photo that someone else had taken and sent to him.

"Do you ever think about telling the world about him?" Holly asked as she dropped her sun block into her beach bag.

Ian looked up at her as he settled his phone back in the beach bag. "Sometimes. I feel bad that I keep so much a secret from the fans, but I just want to keep him protected. I hate the idea that my career choice is going to hurt him."

"Well, its in my experience that keeping things a secret works, but only as long as you keep your entire life bottled up. Haven't we all learned that from our jobs, after all?" She said, chuckling. "Anyhow, I can see how it works for you now, but can you imagine how Josh will feel if you two have kids a few years from now?"

Ian nodded slowly. He understood that Holly was saying that it would eventually unravel into something that would be fair to Josh.

She turned on her chair as Ian sat down on Lucy's chair and Lucy sat down on it next to him.

"Look, you've **got **the instincts to know what's right, versus what's wrong. You know how to protect your son. And paparazzi can be assholes, but believe it or not, there **are **some who have the brains to walk away when you ask them. I've encountered more than my fair share of photographers who are willing to take one for the team and give you the time of day to get your things done instead of falling you around with your child."

Ian nodded, looking across the park to where Josh and Kelley were playing under a fake waterfall. "You don't think it would be a mistake?" Lucy giggled, and shook her head. Holly couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I think it would make your fans love you that much more," Holly replied. "It's not as if you have any haters."

Ian rolled his eyes, even though his cheeks pinked a few shades. He leaned back in the chair and pondered over Holly's suggestion.

The afternoon passed comfortably, and Lucy, Holly, and Ian eventually joined the kids in the water. By the time they headed across the park to the concession stands to get a late lunch, they were all equally soaked.

Lucy rubbed her hands up and down Josh's arms as he sat in her lap. Ian settled a tray of nachos and hot cheese in front of them and then placed fries and hotdogs on the table for Holly's sons.

"Thanks, Boy Wonder. They eat a lot," Holly chuckled as she settled more food onto the table. Josh reached across the table and grabbed a hotdog from one of the trays that Ian had gotten for them while Lucy dipped a chip into the cheese sauce and then ate it.

Ian sat down next to them and they all ate their food. After her kids had finished, Holly sent her sons to play over on the dry park, with the orders that they weren't to go back to the water park until half an hour had passed and their food had settled. Josh hung back, curled up in the beach towel Lucy had wrapped around him while he munched on French fries.

"Can I dip the fries in the cheese?" He asked.

Lucy pushed the tray towards him as Ian shifted him in his lap.

"Alright, apparently we're flying to Virginia next week," he said. "My mother just sent me a text message lecturing me about how she 'never gets to see her grandson and isn't that just so sad and unfair'."

Lucy chuckled. "Alright."

Josh shoved a fry up in Ian's face and smiled at him. "Taste?"

Ian bit off a piece of the fry and chewed it. "Yum."

Holly snapped a photo of them. "_So _cute."

Ian looked back up at her. He picked up his phone off the table and stared at it for a moment. "Take another one."

She took his phone from him and took a picture of Lucy, Ian, and Josh. She passed the phone back a moment later and Ian tapped the side of his phone for a moment before he opened his twitter feed and began to type. He sent the tweet through a moment later, and Lucy and Holly's phones both chimed.

**IANMHARDING**

**girlfriend, father, and son twitpic/94s8sce3**

Lucy smiled, but then chuckled as her mentions began to flood with fans asking questions. It never ceased to amaze her at how quickly people started talking when they posted photos.

**ezrafitzgerald**

**.lucyyhale .IANMHARDING IAN HAS A KID!**

**lucianfan007**

**.lucyyhale .IANMHARDING BABY HARDING?**

**ezriaislove**

**.lucyyhale .IANMHARDING OH. EM. GEE!**

Ian chuckled and shook his head, tapping on the tweet button. He began to type again. His tweet came through a moment later.

**IANMHARDING**

**Yes, I have a son. His name is Josh.**


End file.
